Toy.



H. F. CUNTZ.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-16,1908- RENEWED DEC-9,1916.

m wm Patented. July 17, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- WITNESSES: IN VEIVTOR H. F. CUNTZ.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-15,1908- RENEWED DEC-9, 1916.

Patented 31113717, 1917.

WITNESSES:

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-i6, I908- RENEWED DEC. 9, I916- Patentfl July 17 asusns-smzu 3.

IN VEN TOR.

WITNESSES.-

TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 17, 1917.

Application filed December 16, 1908, Serial No. 467,770. RenewedDecember 9, 1916. Serial No. 136,091.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN F. CUN'rz, a citizen of the United States,resident of Hartford, county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Toys, of which the following isa specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a class of toys which can be best described asminiature automobiles and includes self-propelled cars intended to beoperated with facility and safety for children, which shall be simple,economical and practical and meeting all the peculiar requirements of adevice adapted for such purposes. At the same time the completion ofsuchinvention has involved certain features which are not necessarilyexclusively applicable to a miniature article of this character, but maybe applicable to other sizes, forms and structures.

In part my invention has to do with automobiles for children, which areself-propelling, and means thereon to enable a child to control theapplication of the power in a manner best adapted to avoid thep0ssibility of accident, also features of construction intended toenable the manufacture of such vehicles at a minimum of cost; while oneform of the embodiment of my invention relates particularly to theapplication of improved spring supplied power and its adaptation invarious features to efficiently, uniformly and advantageously propel thevehicle; in addition to which other details of construction are includedin my invention with their respective advantages which will appear frommore detailed description hereinafter. I

In the drawings accompanying the specification is shown a vehiclepropelled by the unwinding of a spring or springs, whlle the particularmethods of control and arrangement of the structure are applicable tovehicles for the same general purpose, in which other sources of powermay be readily used. For the use of children it has appeared mostimportant that the control of such a vehicle be simple and that anymeans for putting the vehicle into op eration or applying. the power,should be of such a character as to operate only under continuedattention of the child, in view of which I have devised means wherebythe driving effort will immediately cease, except upon the continuedclose attention and correct understanding of operation by the child, andin which the power will be thrown out immediately should the child, forinstance, fall from the vehicle or become inattentive and move its feetor hands, as the case may be in any particular structure. In thisrespect a feature of safety control is automatic, making the operationof the vehicle automatically possible only in case of properunderstanding on the partof the child. 7,

With the recent great development of internal combustion engines andtheir simplification and reliability, as well as the possibilities ofother sources of power, such are readily applicable to a vehicle incombination with my details of construction of control and arrangementfor propulsion, while in the form hereinafter particularly shown anddescribed I have embodied a particular arrangement of springs andautomatic means for gaining uniformity of discharge of power from suchspring storage.

In the further development and construction of varying sizes of articlesin accordance with my invention it will be seen that many of thecombinations and features become applicable to larger vehicles and inthis respect it is not my intention that such should be limitednecessarily to a miniature or childs automobile, but that they arebroadly applicable as hereinafter claimed by me.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a toy automobile, with certain partsbroken away to show the internal construction.

Fig. 2 shows the attaching means of the ends of the springs to thedriven member illustrating one form of means for unifying the torque.

Fig. 3 shows in detail a power controlling means.

Fig. i is a side view of a vehicle showing a modified form of powertransmission mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a vehicle showing modified arrangement of powerstorage and power control.

driven plate C to which is attached a gear D driving a small pinion donthe longitudinal shaft E which by means of bevel gear 6 drives a bevelgear 6 on the rear axle and transmits power to the drivlng wheels F.

The winding plate C embodies or is aflixed to a gear 0 which is actuatedby a the occupant.

pinion of operated by a crank 0 A ratchet connected with the pinion 0with suitable pawl and spring serves to lock the pinion and consequentlythe crank against backward movement or reverse driving.

Attached to the driven plate C or gear D is a plurality of radialthreaded rods G embodying lugs g to which the ends of respective springsare attached. Attached to the gearD or the driving plate is a brake drumH surrounded by a brake band it which is suitably connected to anoperating pedal or other lever 7' located conveniently 'for applicationof pressure by'the foot of On the inner ends of the radial rods Gareattached pinions g which engage a common pinion g fixed to a shaft Kprojecting axially through the nest oi. springsO and supported in afrontbearing and-a rear bearing 70 suitably supported on or near the dashofthe vehicle, and carrying near the rear bearing the hub 70 for Isupporting the driven plate C or the driven gear D. r

Cushion B is normally held upward from its seat by spring 6, and is.connected by "link Z) to one end of lever b suitably pivoted to the bodyof the vehicle, the other end of leverb -connects by link 6 to. thehorizontally extending arm of hell lever f, the

vertically depending arm of which is linked v the end of pedal j, whichis normally held to the lower 'end of lever m suitably mount- ;ed inathechassis. The upper end of lever m is cut out so as to notch under andlock in its upward position by spring j, and

prevents the accidental downward 1novenient of said pedal which wouldstart the vehiclein motion. r

1 Uponthe occupant seating himself in the vehicle, cushion Bis'depressed and through the'system of links and levers above deoscribedthe-latch or lever m is withdrawn from beneath the pedal 3', thusallowing the winding gear 0, the proportions are made so that thelimited power of a child can turn the crank 0 and thereby turn thewinding gear 0. The ratchet 0 will prevent backflying of the crank, andthe continued operation by the child will coil up or in other words windthe nest of springs G putting them in tension, thereby storing power.During this operation the shaft K turns in the same direction as thewinding plate C being rigidly attached thereto and thereby turns thesmall bevel gear 9 which in turn rotates by means of the small bevelgear 9 the radial rods G. This action results by suitable threading onthe rods in drawing toward-the center all of the spring attaching lugs gwith the result that when the spring has been completely wound up theends thereof attached to the driven plate C or to the gear D will beacting thereon at the minimum predetermined radius. This-exists when thesprings are in greatest tension producing the condition of greatestspring tension operating on the smallest radius within the limits of thedesign. While this winding has been in progress a suitable spring j haskept the pedal j in a position which by any usual form of toggle or bellcrank connection actuates and causes brake band 72 to firmly clamp thebrake drum H and prevent the driving gear D from rotating.

The operator now entering the vehicle and being prepared to start,applies pressure to the pedal 7' thereby releasing the driving gear Dand the tension in the springs acts to unwind them thereby driving thegear D which turns the small pinion (Z driving the shaft E and thereargears c and 0 thereby propelling thevehicle. As the spring unwinds theshaft K being stationary with its small, bevel pinion 9 the unwinding ofthe driven disk C carrying with it the radial rods (i, the latterarecaused to turn by the pinion g at their inner ends and gradually projectthe spring attaching lugs g radially outward, substantially inproportion to the degree of unwinding of the springs. This results inthe application of the spring tension to a constantly greater radiusasthe point of torque to the driven disk C or the gear D, withinreasonable limits of spring discharge. In this manner it is possible tovery largely eliminate the excessive power which would otherwise comeinto action immediately upon the releasing of the spring under hightension and will consequently effect a uniform delivery of power duringa large range.

of discharge of power from the spring.

This method of unifying the discharge of a spring, either coiled orother form, has been intended by me for use in other devices, as forinstance, clock actuating mechanism, when a very large spring is desiredfor driving power for a long period. It will be seen that manymodifications of the form of application of the spring dischargeconnections may be made without departing from the spirit of myinvention. In the vehicle shown I embody in addition to the partsalready specified, steering wheels L with link connections Z to a pillarZ and a hand wheel or other suitable operating device L A lever Mlocated close to the occupants seat may be used with suitableconnections to clutch or unclutch the driving gear 6 from theaxle of thedriving wheels F. By such arrangement it is possible for the driver toclamp or lock the discharge gear D when going down hill and save power,while permitting'the vehicle to coast free from any connection of thedriving gear system. A'second foot pedal N by suitable connections asrod 1% and brake arm a and brake shoes n enables'the operator to applybrakes to the rear wheels of the car when the clutch is out ofconnection or otherwise.

As shown in Fig. 4;, a pulley D takes the place of a gear and a drivingcord or belt 0 passing around the pulley and around sheaves or idlers 0,encircles a pulley O on the rear axle, effecting driving of the vehiclein a simplified form.

In Fig. 5, it will be seen that the spring storage is located underneaththe drivers seat, by which arrangement the gear P driving a gear or belt19 actuates the rear axle 7 through the clutch? moving on a spline onthe rear axle so that the same member can be thrown out of engagementwhen the spring mechanism is locked against dis-I charge, and move aclutch '9 into engagement with a clutch member Q fixed to the vehicle oragainst rotation. The clutch Q and clutch member Q serve to retard orstop the vehicle when coasting or otherwise running, when the drivingmechanism is out of gear.

In Fig. 6 is shown arrangement of band spring It in a box or the mainbody portion of the vehicle, which is particularly suitable in somecases where large storage space for such member is desired; insuch astructure the Winding is efiected by means of bevel gears 7" and shaft1" actuated by a crank 1. In this structure I find a very practicaldriving arrangement comprises the disk S attached'to the rear axleengaged by a friction Wheel 8 driven by the shaft 8 which in turn isdriven by a pulley or gear 8 actuated by the driving member T actuatedby the unwinding of the spring B. By this means it is always possible toobtain a very simple driving control by shifting the pulley s to greateror less radial distance from'center of the disk S by any suitable means,as for instance, bell crank U operated by the rod 10 and controllerhandle M. In view of the light weight of machines of this character andtheir intended use on smooth, hard surfaces, and their light load, avery small amount of power is necessary to propel them and with smallinternal friction they will to a very large extent coast or move with solittle power as to make a detachable speed mechanism desirable, so thatthe tension of the spring can be conserved as much as possible andutilized only when inclines are reached. The arrangement shown in Fig. 6in this respect becomes most desirable.

Having now fully described the particular forms of my invention I directattention to the important features of control when my inventionsareembodied in a vehicle for use by children. 'Among these it will beobserved that whether the power for propelling the vehicle is spring or,as has been stated, may be an internal combustion engine or any desiredsuitable source, by the use of my controlling method, the vehicle willnot be moved, except close attention is paid by oc cupant, and constantattention, by applying or actuating a lever, and on the other hand anyinattention of the driver, such as permitting his foot to slip or movinghis hand when such control is by a hand lever, will result inautomatically cutting off the power from driving the vehicle.

While the use of spring stored power has its well known limitations, itwill be seen that by my method a uniform discharge or application of thepower is made possible, thereby bringing such spring propelledpropulsion within the range-of practical utility. I have found that withthe increased use of self-propelled vehicles, many cases arise where thedistance to be covered is very small, even outside of the use forchildrens vehicles, and in some such cases it is practical to utilizeeven a large vehicle with properly controlled spring power storage. Theadvantage of regaining practically all of the stored energy in aproperlyconstructed and properly propelled spring affords the opportunity ofpractical use of such an arrangement for particular cases. In suchevents I arrange for the winding up of the springs by any suitablestationary power supply, as for instance, by coupling to an electricmotor and having a large speed change between the winding shaft and thespring drum disk. A vehicle so constructed can be used particularly forshort runs and level roads, as for instance, in numerous localitiesWhere well builtboard walks, convention halls or the like, have nowbecome common. In such application of the various features of myinvention or embodiment of their combinations, advantages are offeredover the now usual methods of self-propulsion of vehicles, in that thedanger of fuel, or the acid incident to the useof batteries, or theweight of electric storage batteries, are eliminated.

While larger size machines for children maybe operated by internalcombustion engines, using some of the features of my invention, thesmaller sizes are found desirable to. propel by springs only, and in sodoing avoid anyobjectionable features which otherwise would be involvedand would be dangerous for very small children, when for instance,acids, oils, inflammable material and grease, etc, were present. Forthese very small vehicles the elimination of any substantial amount ofpower. or otherwise dangerously regarded adjuncts, permits their use onside walks, whereas otherwise they would have to be classed with theusual self-propelled'vehicles and relegated to the roadways, obviouslymaking their use by small children impossible or precarious to apractically prohibitive degree- While I have shown particular forms ofembodiment of my invention and have described such and also variousapplications and modifications thereof, my invention is not confinedtosuch particular formsshown and described, or their particularcombinations specificallyv recited, but what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: 1. In a self-propelled vehicle, a springfor storing energy, means'forputting said spring in tension andautomatically holding the same, means for normally locking said springagainst unwinding, a device accessible to the occupant when in thevehicle for releasingsaid spring and permitting its unwinding uponthecontinued actuation of said device,,means for locking said device ininoperative position, released only by the weight of the occupant actingon the seat of the vehicle.

2. In a vehicle, a spring for storing power and means operating on oneend of said spring for putting the same in tension, a driven meansconnected to the other end of said spring, means connected to saiddriving means to automaticallylock said spring against unwinding,connections with, said driving means for. transmitting the I unwindingof said spring to propel the vehicle, an operating device normallyholding said connections with said driving means in inoperativeposition, means for locking said device released by the weight of theoccupant on the seat of the vehicle.

. 3. In a vehicle, springs for storing power, means for holding one endof each of said springsagainst rotation and means connected with theother end of said springs whereby the force of unwinding isautomatically applied at a varying radius on the driven mechanism of thevehicle in proportion to the degree of tension in the spring and meansfor transmitting the stored power to the driving wheels, means forcontrolling said transmitting means and a locking device therefor, saiddevice being released only by the weight of the occupant on the seat ofthe vehicle.

4. In a self-propelled vehicle, a plurality of springs for startingpower and driving said vehicle, means for unifying the torque oftransmission of said vehicle, means for controlling the transmission ofpower and a device for locking said means in inoperative positionreleased only by the weight of the occupant on the seat of the vehicle.

5. In a self-propelled vehicle, a plurality of springs to drive saidvehicle, means for automatically varying the radiusv of application ofthe distending ends of said springs,

means for locking the opposite ends of said springs against rotation andmeans for winding them in one direction and locking them at said end,means for controlling the unwinding by a pedal requiring continuedapplication to release the unwinding, and a device for locking saidpedal except upon application of the weight of the occupant on the seatof the vehicle.

6. In a selfpropelled vehicle, driving springs in the front of saidvehicle disposed about a longitudinal shaft, means at the forward end ofsaid shaft for winding said springs, a casing inclosing said springs andwinding mechanism and driving mechanism, and a crank projecting beyondsaid casing to operate said winding mechanism, driving mechanismconnected to the rear end of said springs and gearing connecting saiddriving mechanism to the driven wheel of the vehicle, a seat in the rearof said vehicle, and steering mechanism and driving mechanism releasedin operative position accessible to the occupant on the said seat, meansoperated by the weight of the occupant on the seat to permit theactuation and release of the driving mechanism.

7. A toy automobile having a seat in the rear and a nest of coil springsin forward end, a hood completely inclosing said springs, windingmechanism at the forward end of said springs operable from without thecasing, driving mechanism at the rear vice accessible to and operable bythe ocend of said springs, interlocking mechanism cnpant when on theseat. 1.0 to normally prevent the unwinding of the Signed at New York,this 11th day of Despring at the rear to drive the propelling cember,1908.

mechanism, interconnected whereby the ve- HERMANN F. CUNTZ. hicle islocked against propulsion when the Witnesses:

weight of the driver is released from the GEORGE A. WARD,

seat, a brake, steering and drive release de- H. MUGHMORE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

